North Carolina registers security guards through the Private Protective Services Board (PPSB), part of the NC Department of Public Safety, under Chapter 74C of the General Statutes and the Board's rules in 14B NCAC 16. You do not apply on your own: the company that hires you registers you.
Who qualifies
- You must be at least 18 (G.S. 74C-8(d)(1) and 14B NCAC 16 .0703). The armed permit uses the same minimum standards (.0803).
- You must be a U.S. citizen or a resident alien.
- You must be of good moral character and temperate habits; certain convictions within the last five years count against you.
- The Board runs a fingerprint check through the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI, and your employer uploads statewide criminal history searches for every state you lived in over the past 60 months.
Your first weeks: probation, and 4 hours before your first post
- A guard company can employ you as a probationary employee for 20 consecutive calendar days (G.S. 74C-11(a)). If it keeps you on, it must register you with the Board within 30 days after the probationary period ends.
- Before you are placed on any duty station, probationary or not, you must complete 4 hours of the basic course: "The Security Officer in North Carolina" and "Legal Issues for Security Officers" (14B NCAC 16 .0707(b)).
- The full 16-hour course must be finished within 30 days of permanent employment.
The 16-hour unarmed course
The course is taught by a Board-certified unarmed trainer from the Board's lesson plan, with these minimums:
- The Security Officer in North Carolina: 1 hour
- Legal Issues for Security Officers: 3 hours
- Emergency Response: 3 hours
- Communications: 2 hours
- Patrol Procedures: 3 hours
- Note Taking and Report Writing: 3 hours
- Professional Conduct: 1 hour
It can be taught in person, in a remote classroom, live online, or in a hybrid format, as long as the trainer and students can see and hear each other in real time. A self-paced video course does not meet the rule.
Applying and fees
Your employer submits the online application with your fingerprints, a color photo taken in the last six months, the criminal history searches, a trainer's statement that you completed the training, and a signed affidavit. The fees in 14B NCAC 16 .0702 are:
- Initial registration: $30
- Annual renewal: $30
- Transfer to a new company: $15
- Late renewal (within 90 days after expiry): $25 on top of the renewal fee
The SBI record check cost and the online vendor's convenience and card fees are added. Until your card arrives, your copies of the application, affidavit and training certification serve as a temporary registration card: carry them on duty and show them to a law enforcement officer or the Board if asked.
Armed guards: the firearm registration permit
- Finish the 16-hour unarmed course first.
- Then complete at least 20 hours of armed training: legal limitations (4 hours), handgun safety (1), operation and maintenance (3), handgun fundamentals (8) and night firing (4). All 20 hours must fall within 14 consecutive days, and no more than 90 days before the application.
- Qualify with at least 80 percent accuracy on the Board's range course, using your duty weapon and duty ammunition. You get two series of three attempts within 20 days of the course; fail both and you retake the full course.
- The fees are $30 for the registration plus a $15 application fee (14B NCAC 16 .0802).
- The permit is tied to your employer. Firearms carried on duty must be owned or leased by the employer, and if you leave the company the permit expires and must be returned to the Board within 15 working days.
- Carrying concealed on duty also requires a sheriff-issued concealed handgun permit and a Board endorsement (14B NCAC 16 .0808). The concealed handgun permit requires you to be 21 (G.S. 14-415.12).
Renewal: every year
Unarmed registrations and armed permits both expire one year after they are issued (G.S. 74C-11(d) and 74C-13(d)). Your employer can file the renewal up to 90 days before expiry, with a new photo, an updated statewide criminal history search and the $30 fee. Armed guards also complete a 4-hour recertification course and requalify at 80 percent on the range; the recertification course is valid for 180 days.
If you change companies, your unarmed registration stays valid: the new company files a transfer with the $15 fee, and you can work with a copy of the transfer application until the new card arrives.
How tessura helps
A registration that renews every year is easy to lose track of. tessura is free for guards: add your North Carolina registration to the credential wallet and you get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before it expires. If you are armed, the 180-day window for your recertification course is the date to plan around.
tessura is not affiliated with the PPSB, the NC Department of Public Safety or any state agency. Rules change, so confirm anything you rely on with the Board.